Real Recognition

Click on the video below, to meet me, Roy Saunderson, and learn a little bit about Real Recognition along the way.

Performance or People Engagement

Academic and business financed research tends to focus more on performance engagement than on people engagement. What academia and business can forget is it is people which produce results. Perhaps more attention should be paid to “people engagement”.

That’s probably why I liked the recent findings I came across from the Kenexa Research Institute through People Matters. They’ve certainly found that rewards and recognition are important drivers of engagement over the last few years. However, a pattern has emerged which clearly differentiates the impact made between rewards and recognition.

On their survey Rewards are measured by questions like:

* “I am paid fairly for the work I do;”
* “If I left my current job, I would be able to find another job that paid me similarly or better than what I earn now;”
* “Overall I am satisfied with my pay.”

Recognition was addressed by questions such as:

* “I regularly receive the recognition I deserve;”
* “My Manager provides me with regular recognition for my work;”
* “Where I work, employees are recognized for delivering outstanding customer service.”

Note from the following table that since 2008 Rewards no longer appear in the Top 10 Engagement Driver list, whereas Recognition has maintained a strong foothold.

Rewards vs. Recognition

Year	Rewards	Recognition
2007	Top 10 Engagement Driver	Top 10 Engagement Driver
2008	Not on Top 10 List	Top 10 Engagement Driver
2009	Not on Top 10 List	Top 10 Engagement Driver

This could be a result of the economic downturn where rewards were unstable or completely unavailable. I am hopeful this is also a demonstration of the permanency of the power of Recognition even during tough times.

It only reinforces the fact that recognition practices need to be enhanced in the skill sets of our leaders and managers. When recognition programs are utilized they must be designed far more strategically and with a strong Recognition focus versus simply a Reward paradigm.

If you need assistance with a Recognition Discovery and creating a Recognition Roadmap, simply call us at 877-336-9601. We'd love to help you make Recognition a Top 10 Engagement Driver for you.

Defining Moments - Employee Engagement

Melcrum, the communications company for corporate communicators, recently conducted a poll to gauge people’s definition of what employee engagement really is.

They provided 5 definitions of employee engagement to choose from and asked participants which one they most agreed with. They had over 100 people respond and here are the results by highest ranked percentage of responses:

* "Intellectual understanding and emotional commitment" - 34%
* "Getting employees' hearts and minds orientated to the business" - 33%
* "Employees who say, stay and strive" - 13%
* "Employees who think and act as business people" - 9%
* "Employees who create a lasting difference to the customer" - 8%
* “Other” - 3%

This continues to support the Recognition Management Institute’s perspective with employee recognition as well – that recognition is an emotional and feeling experience as well as performance based.

Our definition of Real Recognition is simply, “any thought word or deed towards making someone feel appreciated for who they are and recognized for what they do.”

The variables for giving meaningful, effective, and “real” recognition is both performance focused and feelings driven.

Let’s ensure we get emotional commitment from our people by engaging their hearts and minds and by honoring them with Real Recognition.

Michael Lee Stallard & Connection Cultures

Michael Lee Stallard joined us today on the Real Recognition Radio to share his whole concept of the Connection Culture that came out of his book Fired Up or Burned Out. You can re-listen to the show as soon as it is archived on the site.

We were excited to learn from Michael’s research his identification of 6 universal needs consisting of Meaning, Respect, Recognition, Belonging, Autonomy, and Personal Growth. Naturally, we were pleased to see respect and recognition within this Character - Connection - Thrive model.

Michael stated employee engagement is like having a battery on the back of each employee which they can’t personally charge. Michael said recognition is what is needed to charge those employee batteries and it can only be done by other people.

Michael also discusses the need for organizations to establish “relationship excellence” which I think is foundational for making recognition valued and perceived as being “real”. We need to connect with people on a human level to have recognition act as a powerful tool for elevating performance.

What are you doing to charge the batteries of those you work with?

If you would like Michael's free eBook on Connection Culture he offered it to all of our listeners and subscribers. Just Click Here to link and download.

A Better Workplace Conversation

You meet some very interesting people along the way while working.

Two such people that Max Brown and I had the privilege of meeting via our internet Real Recognition Radio show are Sonia Di Maulo and Tanveer Naseer both based in Montreal, Canada.

This past Tuesday they appeared as guests on our show to share in A Better Workplace Conversation” which was very stimulating discussion.

Sonia will always keep you focused on giving positive feedback as a tool for better performance using techniques like the 3 + 1 model. She always asks are you ready to feedback? Yes, you will have to listen to the show to learn about her model.

Tanveer will guide you in creating a positive workplace even during our tough economy right now. He provides ideas on how serving makes us better leaders. Yes, he will share ways to get out of the tough state many of us are in and into a more positive state.

So if you want to build trust, encourage a more positive and engaging workplace, gain greater productivity AND give better praise and recognition at work...well you can find the solutions all on Real Recognition Radio.

Listen in!

Rewarding Failure

Ron Ashkenas, co-author of The GE Work-Out and The Boundaryless Organization recently blogged about the trouble we create in business and government by rewarding failure.

This mirrors the “seven reasons why people don’t do what we want them to”.

1. No Expectations
When we fail to set expectations of what we want someone to do, how can we complain when a person doesn’t do it right? No expectations lead to failure. So set clear and specific expectations and we will eliminate the degree of failure.

2. No Feedback
When we fail to give feedback to an individual after setting the expectations we are doing them a disservice but not letting them know how they are doing. Have they met, exceeded or not reached the expectations set. Give people feedback – positive and constructive -.and you’ll see progress happen right away.

3. No Training
If we don’t educate and train our people on the knowledge and skills needed to do the job properly then we must take responsibility for any failure. Education changes from within and training changes from without and both lead to success.

4. No Resources
Without the tools, the equipment, the monies, and the right people to make things happen nothing really can happen. If the only tool in town is a hammer everything begins to look like a nail. Give people the resources and they’ll perform miracles.

5. Reward Wrong
Like Ron Ashkenas shared on the financial crisis, sometimes we reward the wrong things by not holding people accountable for results and rewarding behaviors we don’t want. Define the right behaviors and results and reward them.

6. Punish Right
Sometimes we punish people when they do the right things simply by minimizing what they do or making light of high performers so they look bad in front of others. Set the right expectations and recognize people who reach them so they become role models for success.

7. Ignore Either
Unfortunately, we most often ignore the great and not so great things going on in the workplace. Never lose out on the opportunity to recognize what people are doing well and coach people who just may be off track to get back on board.

Let’s focus on our strengths and manage our weaknesses the right way and not by rewarding failure.

Happy Employee Appreciation Day

Believe it or not, today, the first Friday in March, is Employee Appreciation Day.

So have you thanked a colleague, fellow employee, or boss today for truly making a difference to you at your work?

One survey by Adecco USA found 75 percent of employees reported they gave enough "thanks" to their coworkers. Meanwhile the same respondents believe they do not get enough appreciation for their own efforts. Perhaps this mirrors the human tendency to self-report ourselves doing better on behaviors than those around us, but still perceptions are real in the eyes of the beholder.

Survey participants also reported 65 percent of employees would like to receive more "thanks" at their jobs, even though 52 percent said their boss does a good job of thanking them. Seems half of the bosses out there might need to pull up their socks in this area.

And don’t worry about generational differences. Expressing appreciation even makes an impact across the generations. Over 75 percent of Generation Y (those aged 18-29) said more thanks would bring more motivation to do a better job, compared to just 36 percent of the Silent Generation (ages 62 and above).

So bosses and co-workers, PLEASE get out there and express THANKS to one more person today.